Werelions, Weretigers, and Werebears, oh my!

[Obsidian Shadow]

Recently, I've noticed a trend in the using of wereanimals and hybrids as NPC'S and PC's.This was an idea that has been fermenting in my mind for quite some time. I've got the basics, now all I need is help in bringing it o fruition. Normally, you'll find that the average werebeing has two forms: The "wereform" in which the being can transform into a creature with the physical ( and sometimes mental ) attributes of that particular animal while retaining some human characteristics, and the "fullform", a form in which the being transforms fully into the specified animal. My idea was to be able to mix and match parts of the wereforms with each other until you found a suitable combination. For instance, if your animals were the panther and the eagle, you could have the wereform of the panther with the wings of the eagle. To compensate for the extra body mass, the wings would automatically become larger and more muscled, while the panthers bones wold become less dense to facillitate flight. You could even stay in human form and, change your limbs to that of a panther. The possibilities! There would have to be limits, of course; I'm thinking of just limiting it to two species per character, whatever they may be. The actual creation process is a dillemma I've yet to solve. Possibly it can be some sort of magical religious ceremony. What will be interesting is what the offspring  of weredad and weremom will look like. For any with a similar idea, I got my inspiration from www.goldenwolfen.com. The were's there are absolutely breath-taking. Hit me back, ya'll!

[CaptainPenguin]

See my character submission Four Arms.
That may be similar to the "hybrid" were-beasts you are talking about.

[PenDragon]

well you could make it like a spell gone bad that a sorcerer (or the like) cast on a caracter or a cursed scroll or some other mysterious phenomenon :idea:  :twisted:

[Grevenon]

Scold me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't it be bad to go "fullform"? If you totally change into that creature, than the character's original conscience would be gone and they might be stuck in that form forever. Unless that is a stupid idea I just said and there would always be a small subconscience state that would allow them to transform back to their original state. odd concept...

[CaptainPenguin]

Well, I believe that it is in the original werewolf legends that people totally became animals, and that they retained consciousness, but one can always alter in the sake of imagination.

[Grevenon]

true true. When playing the game, it would be almost necessary to retain some of the original character's conscience to allow him/her to alter back. If not, that could add a very frustrating touch to transformation...an interesting idea to add to the game...you have to make a saving check of something to successfully alter back to originality, or else you remain in your transformed self untill your next turn...hmmm...

[Magus]

Well, traditionally lycanthopes are only able to transform into creatures during the full moon. It might be a good idea to set a time system to a game that is somewhat proportional to real life time. What  you could do is have it that your character is only able to transform during night, and the more hybrid transformation they use, the closer to the middle of the night it has to be.

[Obsidian Shadow]

I apologize. I should have specified that when the werebeing undergoes the transformation into fullform, he/she retains full human consciousness. Some limitations:

1) The longer the werebeing stays in fullform, the more like the animal the werebeing becomes. If you changed into a wolf and remained in that form, after six hours you would begin to think and act like a wolf. The more time spent as a wolf, the harder it is to change back. If the werebeing does change back, he/she will have to stay in human form for at least the time that they spent in fullform in order for the human consciousness to reassert itself. The process is slow but gradual. Remaining in fullform or hybrid fullform for more than 24 hours willl result in the werebeing being stuck in that form, unless by very powerful outside magical influence OR (plot point) the afflicted werebeing can only turn back into human form if he/she undertakes a highly dangerous quest to the ( insert mysterious location). However, you must complete this mission in a timely fashion, for every second wasted is another part of your consciousness slipping away.

2) After a certain amount of time, say six hours, any transformation past the limbs takes a hefty toll on the werebeing's human body.

3) If the werebeing does not transform in to anything in at least three weeks, the were will fall ill. His body will be hot all over and sharp intense pains will occur periodically. As the day goes on, the illness gets worse. The feeling is akin to the feeling of an animal trying to claw it's way to out of your stomach, Which is preciscely what happened, in a sense. The beast is apart of you, to deny it would be like not feeding yourselves

However, despite theses limitations, there are some advantages.Wounds received in either form are healed when the werebeing transforms from one form to another.

[PenDragon]

If the person had two were forms could they change into either-or? Would they also haveto reduce the time limit since they have two forms?

[Siren no Orakio]

I think, perhaps, the most interesting approach I've ever seen to a were-creature came from the published game system, Shadowrun. Rather than being an infected or cursed human, the were-creature was a magically saturated animal which possesses a greater or lesser degree of sentience, as well as the ability to fully shapeshift into a human being. The other advantages and disadvantages of this race-choice aside, the Shadowrun were-creature isn't vulnerable to losing his mind to the animal state, but he will behave in  manners that defy normal human emotional and logical patterns.

Tigers are consumate predators, expect this weretiger to be perpetually on the hunt - and don't be very surprised if it decides the cybered up hellhound you just ventilated is a good midnight snack. Woe be unto the man who harms the 'packmate' of the werewolf, for you have just awoken the most savage and unreasoning of foes. Slow and unmotivated the great, savage were-bear may be, but do you really want to see this shambling brute of a man move?

[PenDragon]

If that happened to a weredragon what then? woe be the man to mistake him for a pesent